Cue the pomp and circumstance…

In short, doing a lot of stuff. Wrapping up school (which is finally over… for the time being, until I figure out what to do about grad school), trying to make some money by working at my current internship job (going okay), finishing up with moving (time consuming and stressful), and trying to maintain some kind of a social life (sometimes difficult) all at the same time.

Overall, the past two months have been a blur.

Surprisingly, I only had one final exam to conclude my four year stint as an undergrad student at Rider. No cramming. No late nights at the library. Nothing. It was kind of a boring “finale” to top off the last four years, to be honest, but much welcomed at the same time, considering everything else that has been going on. Three of my classes had group projects in lieu of finals, all of which I did well on. I also completed my thesis paper and wrapped that whole experience up with a short presentation on April 13, which my mom and Steve attended.

In total, my thesis was over 8,000 words and 29 pages total. It was nice to hear what everyone else wrote about and be able to share a very brief overview of what I researched over the past 5-6 months; however, because of several date changes, many advisors (mine included) were unable to attend the presentations and several students had to leave for night classes. I think that could have been arranged better so everyone could have had the opportunity to attend and stay for the duration of the presentations (I was one of the last presenters, so the crowd thinned considerably by the time I presented), but it is what it is.

For anybody who is interested, I plan on posting my thesis as a .PDF which can be downloaded to mobile devices and computers alike for your reading pleasure :wink:. It is called The Past, Present and Future of Mobile Marketing. Going along with this, and considering some of the research that I completed, I intend to figure out a way to make both Fuchsia-Revolver and Burned-Bridges “mobile friendly.” I won’t bore you with statistics (I spent six months researching and writing, so read my paper for that! :grin:), but 50 percent of Google searches last year were on a mobile device and the number of mobile users with smart phones should rise significantly this year. It will only be a matter of time before mobile usage will meet or exceed PC/laptop usage and now is the time to do any kind of optimizing for mobile web, if you ask me.

At the presentations, we received blue honors cords and certificates for completing the business honors program. The day after the presentations when I went to pick up my cap and gown, I found out that I achieved Magna Cum Laude honors status for having a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater. Admittedly, there were some bumps in the road and I didn’t do as well as I hoped along the way, but I am still very proud of my achievement and was able to have various honors recognitions at graduation on Friday, May 13th. It didn’t rain, thankfully.

Where am I at now? Well, currently recovering from sticker shock, since I just took a look at my student (private and federal) loan balances which made attending school for the past four years possible. Thankfully, I have six months to try to consolidate my loans and figure out a repayment plan, not to mention find a kick-ass job which will hopefully ease the burden, but I’m not waiting until the last minute for either. It would undoubtedly cause me to have a heart attack to look at all of the interest that is accumulating, day after day, and there is no sense prolonging the inevitable.

One thought on “Cue the pomp and circumstance…”

I can understand the sticker shock. I took a closer look at my student loan balance and realized that it is about twice as much as my total net worth. Yikes. I got a big chunk paid by AmeriCorps, though, and interest rates have dropped so dramatically since I took the loans out that I’m confident I’ll be able to pay them down bit by bit.

I know you’re probably getting tons of job advice, but I want to chime in anyway on the side of not giving up until you find a job you love. Even if you wind up taking one you don’t love because you have to pay those loan bills, only work it while you keep looking for a better job. I had to move halfway across the country to get my job, but I would do it again. Most of the time, it doesn’t even feel like work, and that makes all the difference.

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My name is Anna and I am a native New Jerseyan, marketing professional, and food lover living in Lehigh Valley, PA. Learn more about me. >>